Bluffing
by youkai chick supreme
Summary: Riku's finally perfected his poker face. That jack's not looking so menacing any longer, now is it? Sequel to "Royally Screwed". RiSo, AkuRoku, past AkuRiku


A/n: Okay, I decided to write a sequel to "Royally Screwed" because it was requested of me. This was actually ridiculously hard for me… Embarrassingly so.

Dedicated to KittyBlue! Here you go, you asked for a sequel and this is what you got! Speak up if you hate it, I'll write you something else.

* * *

'Son of a bitch,' Riku mused to himself, 'How do I get myself into shit like this?'

As Axel threw down his two pairs, queens and eights, Roxas cuddled into his side, nuzzling the arm wrapped around him. The pang that went off in Riku's chest, the one he got whenever he was around the 'newest, cutest couple!' according to Selphie, didn't hurt as much as it used to. Two weeks of binge drinking, followed by a month of holing up inside an empty apartment, followed by several random hook ups over the course of three months tended to dull the pain of a 'fuck and run' encounter.

Sora helped as well. A smile came, unbidden, to Riku's face just thinking about the boy who helped him get over the red head. Thinking about Sora always made Riku smile. Riku never bothered to take the time to stop and wonder why.

"So what have you got kid?" Axel cut into Riku's 'Sora Day Dreams.'

Smirking despite the memories that moniker evoked, Riku let his cards do the talking for him. A full house trumped Axel's two pair. The flamboyant cursing and Roxas's scowl were worth more than the twenty bucks in chips Riku won on that hand.

"Lucky little bitch… So where's your little boy toy?"

"What? Who, Sora? Kairi had some bull shit drama she wanted to talk to him about. But he should be here soon-ish. And could you not call him that? Thanks."

"Well, ain't he? Your new toy I mean. You are banging him, right?" The red head leered, leaning forward across the table, waggling his eyebrows ridiculously.

"What! No! Jeez, it's always about sex with you, isn't it? Don't answer that. God, no. Some people are just friends."

The door to Riku's apartment opened before Axel could respond; Sora stumbling in, looking lost.

"Sora, are you okay?" Riku asked, stepping around the coffee table-cum-poker table, joining the boy at the front door as he took off his shoes.

"Kairi asked me out. That was her 'big secret.'" For reasons unknown to Riku the chest pains were back. And they hurt as badly as the ones he had when Axel first left him.

"What?"

"Yea, she asked me out, told me she's in love with me and she just couldn't hide her feelings anymore or whatever. She even asked me out to dinner this Saturday. To Osaka."

"Damn shorty, she must like you! That place is soooo expensive!" Axel crowed with a sort of malicious delight.

"What did you say Sora?" Roxas cut off his boyfriend with a well placed elbow to the solar plexus; then ignored the mumbled proclamations of love and whimpers of pain ("Oh my Roxy is so cruel to me! But why? All I do is love him…") coming from the red head.

"I told her I like someone else. She seemed to take it well enough; she only cried a little…" And Riku could breathe again, until Sora's first sentence registered.

"Who?" Riku questioned softly.

"Who –what?" Sora blinked, drifting into Riku's kitchen as if it were his own.

"Who do you like? Duh." Riku said the magic words and stopped time. Axel and Roxas were frozen on the couch in mid-cuddle; Sora standing in the doorway of the kitchen, a glass of juice halfway to his open mouth.

"Who do you like, Sora?" Repeating them seemed to break the time freeze spell. Sora put down his glass as Axel leaned in closer to get a better view. Roxas sat still, contemplating if it was better to wait to play "damage control" (i.e., to crack the whip down on his boyfriend), or just leave.

"We're going to go." Roxas decided, "Sora, call me later okay?" And Roxas pulled Axel out the door, literally kicking and screaming ("No! I have to know who it is! Roxy! Stop! No!").

"Riku, I…" The brunet stopped, as if just realizing what he was saying. But the other kept prodding and digging and asking-asking-asking, the brunet couldn't ignore him. He tried to stop himself but the answer came spilling out just the same.

"You! I like you, okay! I like you Riku. But I didn't want to say anything because of the whole Axel and Roxas situation. You were so messed up over the whole thing and I didn't want to complicate things between us too. But you just had to keep asking; you just had to know, didn't you? I was fine with just being friends…"

"No you weren't." For Riku realization dawned on him suddenly, swiftly and brutally. "You weren't fine, it hurt you, _I_ hurt you, didn't I? Every time I came crying to you about Axel or ran off and kissed someone else, I hurt you. God Sora, I'm so sor—"

"_Don't._ Please don't. Don't apologize for being hurt or trying to get over a guy who hurt you. I never expected anything from you so you never let me down. I… Riku, I don't want anything to change between us. You're my best friend. I can't lose you. Can't we pretend this never happened?"

The pleading blue eyes hurt to look at, but Riku never broke eye contact. He wouldn't let himself look away while breaking the boy's heart.

"No Sora, we can't. I'm sorry but I can't pretend, I won't."

If the pleading eyes of Sora were hard to look at, the addition of tears made it nearly unbearable. Sora tried to contain them, choking and gasping softly, face buried in his hands. When he felt Riku's arms cradling him the choking stopped with a final gasp as the tears trickled to an end.

"Riku?"

"I don't like you the way you like me. Not yet. But I know I will. Hell, I like you so much already. Give me a little time Sora and I'm sure I'll love you. Will… will you give me some time and let me love you?"

"Yes, of course. I… I'll give you anything you want Riku." The words were muffled, having been spoken into hands and pressed against a chest, but Riku heard them, heard the almost desperation lacing the words.

"Then I'm taking this." Before the brunet could even cock an eyebrow the silver haired boy holding him lifted his chin and kissed him. The reaction was instantaneous. The brunet poured his whole self into the kiss, arching up into Riku, tangling his fingers in liquid silver.

It all was happening too fast. Part of Riku wanted to stop it from happening; it was happening too quickly for it to be a good thing his mind screamed. But he ignored his common sense. He eagerly helped Sora in stripping them both bare. And he actively helped in prepping Sora, using the same technique Axel had used on him. And he took the smaller brunet much the same way Axel took him, same room, same position, different role, different partner.

Sora came first, followed by Riku a few scant seconds later. The regret that leaked into Riku's heart was mellow, made easier by the look of complete contentment and utter satisfaction on his partner's face.

"Riku? I know you don't love me like I love you, not yet, but do you think that someday you could?" The thinly veiled terror of being abandoned struck Riku just as deeply as he knew it would.

"I do. I didn't say it to simply get in your pants, Sora. I would never do that to you. I have feelings for you already. And I know they'll turn into love someday soon." Riku swore he'd never become Axel. Sora would never feel as stupid or as used as Axel made Riku feel.

'I'll love you someday Sora, I'll love you even if I have to force myself to.'

* * *

End Note: Ummm, Riku is kind of a combination of sweet and crazy near the end, but I like it. For once, and only once, I have to say, poor Sora.

Is it just me or does it seem like the only reason Riku likes Sora is to spite Axel? ("Ha! Take that, I'm not a user, like you!") I like it though.


End file.
